L6 1567 AaHs UC-NRLF $B 30fi THb A COURSE OF STUDY IN PHYSIOLOGY AND HYGIENE FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS Grades One to Eight BY WOODS HUTCHINSON, A.M^ M.D. HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO CONTENTS How TO TEACH HyGIENE AND PHYSIOLOGY .... 3 Outline for Primary Grades First Grade 8 Second Grade 10 Third Grade 11 Outline for Grammar Grades Fourth Grade ; 11 Fifth Grade 13 Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Grades 14 Copyright, 1913, by Houghton MiflBin Company HOW TO TEACH HYGIjENE, AND. PHYSIOLOGY " BY WOODS HUTCHINSON, A.M., M.D. What Physiology and Hygiene should Comprise Teaching physiology and hygiene is simply teaching a child what life is, and how to live it. There is no difficulty \ about practical applications, for in a wisely planned course whatever is learned will be put into practice. The only way to learn to live rightly is to live rightly, and begin to do it at the earliest age possible. It is just as easy to get children started right as wrong. Indeed their natural instincts and performances are in the right direction. The problem is simply to encourage these right tendencies so vigorously and so effectively as to leave no chance for the less desirable ones to develop. In the hands of a wise teacher a great deal of the earlier teaching of physiology and hygiene will simply consist in explaining wh;f children do certain things that they like to do, such as running and jumping, eating and bathing, and how they may do them to the best advantage in order to make and keep themselves healthy and happy and growing. That is, it is easy to meet the natural interests of the child in teach- ing this subject, the only problem being which of his numer- ous interests and curiosities to select as the means of approach to each lesson. On the other hand, the teaching of hygiene has the disad- vantage that on account of its being so intensely practical, and so vitally necessary, it must be taught to a child all at once, so to speak; it cannot readily be divided into an orderly series of lessons, each one covering its appropriate part of the subject for each particular school term or year of the entire curriculum. It would be little short of absurd to teach a child all about his digestion in one year, his breathing apparatus in another, his eyes, ears, and nose in a third, and his brain and nervous system in a fourth, leaving him meanwhile uninformed of and unprotected against at least two thirds of the dangers and risks of his whole environment. 285838 4 HOW TO TKACH HYGIENE AND PHYSIOLOGY Any adequate and helpful system must cover in a gen- eral way a\l of the various points at which a child's life comes in contact with his surroundings, and particularly with other lives, within a reasonably compact period, — say a school year or two at most. Probably the best general plan is to complete this general survey three times during the child's school life: once between his sixth and eighth years, in the primary grades, the second time between his eleventh and fourteenth years, in the grammar grades, and once again, much more intensively, during the first two years of the high school course, when advanced textbooks and full chemical and laboratory work can be included. It should, however, be insisted upon that the second or grammar grade course covering the ground should be made as thorough and complete as possible, in view of the fact that so large a per- centage of our public school children leave school before their fifteenth year in order to go to work or for other reasons. It is almost a pity that the term "Physiology" ever came to be applied to this important and vital subject. "Hygiene," or simply "Health," is a far better title. First, because the only knowledge of the structure and the work- ing of his body that is of suflScient value to the child to be worth teaching him is such as will enable him to make prac- tical use of it in protecting his own health and happiness; and second, because the only rational and sensible method of teaching a child the facts and details of his bodily structure is by seizing upon what he already knows of its comfortable and eflficient action in health and its uncom- fortable and disabling performances in disease, and then working back to the kind and the condition of body ma- chinery which produce these results. Merely to cram the unfortunate child with a mass of unrelated, uninteresting information as to the size and shape of his stomach, the chambers of his heart, the struc- ture of his backbone, the three sacred layers of his skin, and the precise number of bones in his skeleton, is not only irrational and useless, but is very likely to give him a permanent prejudice against really adequate and scientific knowledge of his body and its structure. The best general rule to follow is to teach no physiology or anatomy whatever except that which is required to explain the working of the body and its diflFerent parts in health and in disease, in such detail as the intelligence and HOW TO TEACH HYGIENE AND PHYSIOLOGY 5 interest of the children of each particular age will enable them to grasp, and lead them to inquire about. There is not a single detail, not even of the minutest microscopic structure of our wonderfully complex and elaborate machine called the human body, which cannot be reached and brought out by this method before the end of the high school course, provided that the teacher is equipped and prepared to follow the curiosity and the questions of the children to their natural conclusion. The Importance of Early Instruction in Hygiene The early presentation of such knowledge as will enable the child to live wholesomely, happily, and successfully, is of great importance from another point of view : the awaken- ing in him of the altruistic or social sense and preparing him to play his part as a member of the community, not merely in protecting himself, but also in protecting others. There are few better and more convincing lessons of the necessity of our standing and living "one for all, and all for one," than are furnished on every page of the study of hygiene, particularly, air contamination, the spread of infections, the fouling of water, and public cleanliness in general. The child is of course born seljBsh. He would n't survive if he was n't; but it is both delightful and astonishing how early and how clearly he will begin to form ideas of useful- ness and helpfulness to others and of service to the com- munity if it is only shown him where and how he can be of such service. Some of the best instances of civic better- ment and town house-cleaning that have ever been seen, for instance, have been furnished by Boy Scouts or by brigades of children, not only from the grammar grades, but even from the primary grades. " Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings " come lessons in hygiene and in sanitary con- scientiousness that the most hardened and selfish offender against public welfare dares not ignore. Two- Cycle Plan of the Woods Hutchinson Health Series For these reasons, in the Woods Hutchinson Health Series the ground has been very carefully and thoroughly cov- ered in two volumes. The first book. The Child's Day, is written from the point of view of appealing to the interests and mental grasp of children in the second and third grades, pointing them in the direction of forming such health habits 6 HOW TO TEACH HYGIENE AND PHYSIOLOGY and second-nature reactions to their environment as are most useful for their protection. Injthis first approach, special pains have been taken to restrict the suggestions, advice, and information to such matters as the children will be already interested in and will be able to make use of for themselves or for others, either directly or through sug- gestions to their parents, teachers, and elders generally. The second volume, A Handbook of Health, which is planned to appeal to the interests and powers of intelli- gence of children of from eleven to fourteen, covers the whole field of healthful, happy, efficient living very thor- oughly and carefully, in so far as the needs of pupils of these ages are concerned. As half to two thirds of all our school children drop out of the public schools before they reach the high school, every important health problem con- nected either with the individual or the community is taken up and discussed in this book, with sufficient thor- oughness and detail as to give the child a good working knowledge of what he will need to know about his health for the greater part of his future life. We feel little hesitation in saying that any child who has carefully studied these two books, and made the practical applications, the visits of inspection, and the investigation suggested in them will have a good, practical knowledge of what steps are necessary to protect his health under all ordinary circumstances, and will be so trained and in- formed that he will be able to inform himself through books, public health officers, inspectors, or other appropriate sources, of any further details which he needs to know about. The Method of Presentation The best general method of presentation for the purpose is that followed in the two books in this series. The Child's Day takes up the experiences and activities of a single typical day of the child's life and shows how these may be used to establish right habits of living. The Handbook of Health begins with the most fundamental topic in a health- ful regime — Our Food and Drink — and studies in suc- cession each of the other important topics in the mainte- nance of good health — "The Care of the Heart-pump and its Pipe Lines," "How to Keep the Lung-Bellows in Good Condition," "How to Keep the Skin Healthy," "Exercise and Growth," etc. These topics, taken up in the order in HOW TO TEACH HYGIENE AND PHYSIOLOGY 7 which they are presented in these two books, give an ideal basal course; they may well be supplemented, at the dis- cretion of the teacher, with subjects taken from the daily newspapers, or from current popular discussions in the com- munity, such as particular infectious diseases when these happen to be epidemic in the neighborhood, or some special health measure when it is proposed: for instance, how to secure a good water supply for the town, or how to improve the sewage system, or how to put in operation a system of market or food inspection, or the danger of spitting and how to eliminate it. The Aid of a Doctor Should be Sought It is strongly urged that teachers in all grades get in touch at the earliest possible moment either with the school physician, or with some physician who happens to be a member of the School Board, or some local doctor who is intelligent and public-spirited, and either get advice and suggestions from him as to how to present certain timely topics, or, as can very frequently be done, get him to come in for a few moments and talk to the children on some mat- ter that is exciting public interest. This method has the advantage that if, as will often happen, the children in the course of a lesson ask questions which go beyond the imme- diate knowledge and experience of the teacher in hygienic matters, these can be deferred till the next visit of the doctor, or the teacher can ask him personally about them and report to the class. It should never for a moment be forgotten that the wisest and most experienced physician or the greatest and most famous physiologist or sanitarian will be puzzled, not merely once, but a dozen times a month by the naive but positively appalling questions which any bright youngster is not only able, but certain to ask. No- body need have the slightest feeling of reproach or humilia- tion in answering, "I don't know," to the questions of chil- dren. Indeed, the wider the experience and the broader the knowledge of any expert in any science the readier he will be to make this frank answer. The most valuable single thing in the study of a science is the discovery that nobody in the world "knows it all" in any branch and that nobody's opinion is final and conclusive. If you don't learn quite as much as the children from the course in Physiol- ogy, you are not teaching it rightly. 8 OUTLINE FOR PRIMARY GRADES The Course in Hygiene Must be Elastic As the course should by all means be fitted to the children themselves, and be such as they can immediately or in the near future put into practice for themselves, and as it must adapt itself to town, city, or country, as the case may be, — to the conditions and surroundings of the families of the children, — it has been thought best to make the suggested outlines and topics both as general and as elastic as pos- sible, so as to leave the utmost liberty and initiative to the needs and preferences of the individual teacher. For instance, a strictly seasonal division would apply only slightly to the schools in a district of a crowded city, most of whom have never seen anything growing except the grass and flowers in the park, or any vegetables except those in the shops and the peddlers' carts. This was naively illustrated a few months ago by a question asked in perfect good faith by a visitor in one of the downtown schools of the lower East Side in New York. The question was so elemental, as apparently to admit of only one answer: "How many seasons of the year are there, children.^" But the reply came readily and in chorus: "Two! Busy and slack!" Needless to say the absorbing industry in that district was the garment trade. Not the least important by any means in every year of the school course, are the visits to the various farms, fac- tories and establishments, shops and public institutions, where any of what might be termed wholesale or public health activities are carried on, such as the handling and preparation of fruit, grains, nuts, meat, and other foods; the care and shipment of milk; cooking and preparing of foods, as in bakeries, canneries, etc. ; and the various activi- ties of the local boards of health, as the laboratory, the garbage furnace, the water-supply reservoir or filter, the sewage system, and the methods of street cleaning. OUTLINE FOR PRIMARY GRADES First Grade Give one or more ten-minute talks to pupils, once a week, on each of the following subjects. The necessary informa- tion may be found by referring to the Table of Contents and the Index of Woods Hutchinson's A Handbook of Health, 1. How WE EAT OUTLINE FOR PRIMARY GRADES Why we should chew our food well. 2. The care of the teeth What causes decayed teeth. The need of seeing a dentist every six months. How to brush the teeth. When to brush the teeth — at least twice a day. Tooth-brush drill. 3. The different kinds of food that we need (a) Meat, eggs, fish, milk. (b) Vegetables — fresh and cooked. (c) Bread and cereals. (d) Fruits. (e) Sweets. (Candy and sugar should usually be eaten at close of meals — not much between meals.) 4. Our drink We should drink four to six glasses of water every day. Drink a glass of water after cleaning teeth in the morning. Drink plenty of milk. Coffee and tea should never be drunk by children. Why much soda water is bad. (Ice-cold and poor ingredients.) The harm done by alcoholic drinks. 5. When we should eat Three good square meals a day. Eat only plain nutritious food between meals, when hungry. Do not eat within an hour before meal time. 6. Clean food Danger of unclean or decayed food. Visit a clean butcher shop. If possible, visit a clean dairy. Observe difference between street stands, (a) Where food is carefully covered. (b) Where it is exposed to dirt and flies. 7. How TO avoid taking cold Always breathe good air. How to ventilate the schoolroom; the living room; the bedroom. Never use a cup that other people have drunk out of, unless it is thoroughly washed. Keep away from those who have colds. 8. What to do when you have a cold Keep quiet at home, away from other people. 10 OUTLINE FOR PRIMARY GRADES If cold is severe, stay in bed. If you have fever or very sore throat, or pain in the chest, call the doctor. Second Grade Give one or more ten-minute talks to pupils, once a week, on each of the following subjects. The necessary informa- tion may be found by referring to the Table of Contents and the Index of Woods Hutchinson's A Handbook of Health. 1. How TO TAKE CARE OF OUR WONDERFUL COAT — THE SKIN Take a warm bath once a week and cool baths once a day if possible. Scrub the hands thoroughly with soap and water before eating. Shampoo the hair once a week for boys and once in two weeks for girls. 2. The care of the nails The nails are really a kind of skin. They should be cleaned with a blunt point, in the morn- ing, and if necessary before eating. The proper way to cut the nails. 3. Our clothing Purpose of clothing is to keep in the warmth of the body, not to keep cold out. Flannels and woolens are warm because their air spaces hold a large amount of air. Woolens, therefore, should be used for outer garments in cold weather. Cotton undergarments are best for summer and winter. How to dress for different kinds of weather; indoors and outdoors. 4. Play and exercise Why play is good for us. When well, you should play out doors several hours a day. Do not play so hard as to become heated just before or just after eating heartily. 5. Why we need early to form regular habits (a) Eating. (6) Sleeping — go to bed at same hour each night. (c) Bathing. {d) Going to toilet each morning. (e) Studying and playing at certain times of the day. OUTLINE FOR GRAMMAR GRADES 11 Third Grade The Child's Day, Book One of the Woods Hutchinson Health Series, in the hands of the pupils. This book takes up the experiences and activities in a typical day of the life of a child, and shows the pupil how he may so live as to establish right habits of living from the start and thus build up a strong, efficient body. The teacher should read the preface to get the author's point of view in writing the book. Observe that the aim is to get and hold the interest of the pupil. Give one lesson a week, — usually a chapter or a division of a chapter, — having it read orally by the pupils, accom- panied by free discussion. Review the preceding lesson at the beginning of each class exercise, using the questions at the back of the book, or similar questions, to test the grasp that pupils have of the subject and to draw out further discussion. Constantly lead pupils to compare their actual course of living with the ideal kind of life pictured in the book. Where this comparison reveals unhygienic conditions of life or unheal thful habits, do what is possible to help over- come these bad habits and unwholesome conditions. Where very bad conditions are indicated by these discussions the assistance of the school doctor or visiting nurse, if there be such officials, should be sought. Of course, the teacher must be careful not to hurt the feelings of children or arouse the opposition of parents in her attempt to correct unfavorable conditions. OUTLINE FOR GRAMMAR GRADES Fourth Grade General Subject: How to avoid sickness Ten-minute talks to pupils, given weekly throughout the year, on the following topics. The necessary information may be obtained from Woods Hutchinson's A Handbook of Healthy or his Preventable Diseases. 1. Germs These are tiny plants or animals that can be seen only under a microscope. Good Germs. Constitute a large part of all bacteria. These raise our bread, eat up decayed matter, enrich the soil, and in many ways help us. 12 OUTLINE FOR GRAMMAR GRADES Bad germs. Cause most of the sickness in the world. Man has been fighting these germs for years and is winning the fight in the case of many of the diseases. Tell of the work of Pasteur. Tell other stories about the fight with disease. 2. How DISEASE GERMS GROW They stretch themselves out and divide in two, just as the cells in our bodies do. They increase in number very rapidly. 3. How DISEASE GERMS ARE SPREAD By contact with the person having the disease — contagion. By contact with the air carrying the germs — infection, 4. How DISEASE GERMS MAY BE DESTROYED By sunlight. By poisons known as germicides and disinfectants. (Unfortunately most of these cannot be used to destroy germs in the body, as they would injure the body.) By our own body cells. (We should keep our bodies strong and well so that they can fight these germs successfully.) 5. Colds and sore throats Two thirds of all colds are catching. They are usually caught in poorly ventilated rooms. They are not often caused by pure cold air. Symptoms are chills, headache, backache, and fever. Treatment. 6. Tuberculosis or consumption^ What it is. Different forms of it. How it is spread. How it may be avoided. How it may be cured. 7. Typhoid Fever. Caused by infected water or milk. Discuss ways and means of obtaining pure water and clean milk. Dangers to be avoided. 8. Children's diseases Measles, mumps, whooping cough, scarlet fever, diph- theria. All of these may be preceded by sneezing, cold in the head, cough, fever, headache, backache. ^ See Woods Hutchinson's Conquest of Consumption. OUTLINE FOR GRAMMAR GRADES 13 Treatment. Keep away from people and call the doctor at once. Necessity of observing quarantine rules made by the Board of Health. 9. Small-pox Why every child should be vaccinated. Show what vaccination has done in preventing small- pox. Fifth Grade General Subject: What to do in emergencies Ten-minute talks to pupils, given weekly throughout the year, on the following topics. The necessary information may be obtained from Woods Hutchinson's A Handbook of Health, See Table of Contents and Index. 1. Why most accidents and wounds are not serious Our bodies have a wonderful power of repairing them- selves. We have learned to keep all wounds clean, thus avoiding danger from germs. 2. What to do in case of a wound or cut See that it is perfectly cleansed. Put on some antiseptic, like peroxide of hydrogen, or diluted alcohol (one fourth alcohol, three fourths water). Bind up carefully to keep out dirt. 3. What to do in case of severe bleeding Use of the tourniquet. 4. What to do for a bruise Let cold water flow over it, or plunge it into hot water. Bathe it in diluted alcohol (one fourth alcohol, three fourths water) . 5. Burns How to put out fire in clothing. To treat burns, coat over the burned skin with baking- soda, talc powder, flour, or vaseline. If the burn is deep consult a doctor. 6. Sprains Hold injured joint in running cold water for ten minutes. Bandage thoroughly. 7. Broken bones What to do if doctor is not at hand. 8. Poisons and their remedies 14 OUTLINE FOR GRAMMAR GRADES If poisons are swallowed, produce vomiting and call a doctor. For poison ivy, scrub vigorously with soap and hot water. Sixthy Seventh y and Eighth Grades A Handbook of Health, Book Two of the Woods Hutch- inson Health Series, in the hands of pupils. ^ During the Sixth and Seventh Grades, or during the Seventh and Eighth Grades, devote one recitation a week to this book, preceded by a study period. Take the first ten chapters during the first year's work and complete the book during the second year. Use questions in the back of the book, or similar questions, to test the pupils' knowledge of the subject and to draw out discussions. Remember that the purpose of this subject is not to enable pupils to pass examinations, but to teach them to take the best possible care of their health. A SUPPLEMENTARY YEAR'S OUTLINE General Subject: What the community does to keep us Well The following year's work may be given in the Sixth Year, if the Handbook of Health is studied in the Seventh and Eighth Grades, or in the Eighth Grade if this book is used in the Sixth and Seventh Grades. It can easily be covered by ten or fifteen-minute discussions, held weekly, on the fol- lowing topics, or similar topics assigned for investigation : 1. Who are the members of your local Health Board .^^ What are their duties.'^ 2. Who is the Secretary of the Board of Health.^ What does he do.^^ 3. What is done in your town when there is a case of scar- let fever .^ A case of measles .^^ A case of tuberculosis.^ 4. What is the source of the water supply for your home.^^ for your school.^ If a well, see if there are stables or outhouses within 150 yards of it. If your city or town has a central water supply, visit the location and write a report (1) on its location; (2) source of the water; (3) how the water is filtered ; (4) how the water is distributed. 5. When did the last case of typhoid fever occur in your town.? How is it supposed the person got it.^^ What did the Board of Health do about it.? OUTLINE FOR GRAMMAR -SHADES •' 15 6. How is the sewage of youV town: or oky ^isp6?.ed €^? Is there any danger of its contamiiialiiig wells or other water supply? 7. Is there a law against spitting in your city or town? What is the fine or punishment? Is the law enforced? 8. Is there a law against leaving food on sale exposed to dust and flies? Notice particularly venders' carts to see if the owners are careful to keep covered candy, apples, etc., that they have for sale. 9. In your school building is there a spouting fountain or other means of drinking without using a common cup? If not, how can you avoid the danger of using the common cup? 10. Visit butcher shops and grocery stores to see if meats and food are kept in cleanly condition, away from flies and dust. 11. Visit a dairy or milk station to see how the milk is handled. Are precautions taken to keep the milk clean and cool? How is the milk distributed in your com- munity? 12. What recreation grounds and parks are maintained at public expense for the use of the children in your city? How often do you make use of these? 13. What public hospitals are there in your community? What is done with those who have serious infectious diseases? 14. Are there free dispensaries in your town or city? Where are these located? How do these help people to keep well? 15. What is done in your community to keep the streets clean and free from dust? Observe whether they are kept in hygienic condition? 16. Find out the death rate for last year in your city or town. How does this compare with that of former years? Is it increasing or decreasing? 17. Have any steps been taken to get rid of mosquitoes and flies in your city? Find what is being done in other cities and towns and report to the class. Why are these pests dangerous? 18. Can you think of any improvements that would make your city or town a more healthful place to live in? How would you seek to bring about these improvements? THE WOODS HI )N HEALTH SERIES BY WOODS HUTCHINSON, M.D. An ideal course in physiology and hygiene for elemenl tary schools by a writer of international reputation ai physician, teacher, and author. « BOOK ONE. THE CHILD'S DAY For Grades III, IV or V. 40 cents, net. Postpaid! A series of simple, practical, and interesting healthj talks, giving the various experiences of a typical day anc showing the child how he may build a strong, vigorouJ body and thereby immeasurably increase his happinesJ and usefulness. BOOK TWO. A HANDBOOK OF HEALTI For Grades VI, VII, VIII. 65 cents, net. Postpaid An authoritative and fully equipped textbook givinJ practical information regarding the body machinery and the promotion of health in the individual and in the con munity. It brings to the pupil in simple language thj best information and advice of the medical profession > to-day. HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO "> 1 — ' o - UNIVERSITY OF CAIylFORNIA IvIBRARY